Time of Dying
by WhispertheWolf
Summary: Songfic: In a battle with the Cyclonians, Aerrow is struck down and the Storm Hawks surrounded. But Aerrow isn't giving up without a fight . . .


Author's Notes: What can I say? I like this song. And I also like my life. I hope that's okay. Seems like most people who like this song are suicidal (which makes sense. They relate to it.) I like to think that this song isn't about strictly about suicide but is general about not giving up in a life-or-death situation because of the people you fear leaving behind.

Character pain? Yes. Character death? You'll see.

Anyway, enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own _Storm Hawks_, which is property of Nerd Corps, nor do I own "Time of Dying" by Three Days Grace.

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Storm Hawks—Time of Dying

By WhispertheWolf

I knew. I knew the moment I was struck that this could be my last fight.

It had been an ambush. We had landed on Terra Blusteria to visit the Buff Buzzards. Little did we know that the Buff Buzzards had already been captured and that the transmission had come from Cyclonians.

No sooner were we far enough away from the _Condor_ to be unable to run to it for safety when they all struck. Ravess, Snipe, and the Dark Ace. And many, many Talons.

I don't know what had become of my friends. They were lost to me somewhere in the battle. Piper and I normally fought side by side, but she was nowhere to be seen, lost in the fray. Even Radarr had been separated from me.

I had been left to face the Dark Ace alone. Which would have been enough in most cases. But for every one of us, there seemed to be twenty Talons. The Dark Ace wasn't the only one attacking me.

I fended off Talons left and right, over and over again avoiding the Dark Ace's blade. But then I felt myself run into something bulky. I turned around to peer into Snipe's smirking face. He swung at me with his mace, and I had to tumble out of the way.

No sooner was I safe from him when something pierced my shoulder, making me scream. I wrenched the point free, holding the weapon in front of my face to see what it was. One of Ravess's arrows. I looked over my shoulder to see Ravess's sneering at me, her bow still poised from her shot.

Snipe swung again. I tried to move, the pain traveling down my arm from my injured shoulder. But this time, I wasn't quick enough. The mace hit me with the sound of cracking bone. I tumbled to the ground, right at the Dark Ace's feet.

The Ace smirked at me. "You didn't honestly think we'd go through all this trouble and let you get away so easily?" he said. "After all, what's a Sky Knight squadron without a Sky Knight?"

His words chilled me to the bone. The commanders had been planning to corner and kill me all along! I tried to push myself off the ground, to get up, to strike him, to run, anything to escape. But his sword flashed in front of me before I could move.

I struck out, kicking him in the shin and knocking him down. But by then, he'd already struck my side. It felt like my torso had been lit afire. I tried to heave myself up, but it only ripped a cry from my throat. I couldn't get up. I couldn't _move!_

_On the ground I lay,  
Motionless in pain._

That was when I knew. I had never dared to think that I wouldn't make it out of battle one day. Now I was sure I wouldn't. The funny thing was that I didn't feel sad or even scared of the death itself. I was worried that I had not done enough yet . . . that I was leaving my friends without guidance and leaving my mission—to save Atmos from Cyclonia—unfinished.

_I can see my life flashing before my eyes._

The world was fading into blackness. I struggled to stay conscious, struggled to try to catch my breath. There's no way this could be happening. The Storm Hawks always won! This was another one of my nightmares. There was no way I could be living one of my worst fears.

_Did I fall asleep?  
Is this all a dream?  
Wake me up. I'm living a nightmare._

The Dark Ace had gotten to his feet again. I could see his blurred figure standing over me. The smirk . . . that's what got to me. He was smirking in triumph.

"You remember the rules, Aerrow," he said coldly. "If you live, you win. And you lose."

I tried to give him some witty remark, some cold comeback, but all I could do was gasp for breath. I felt so weak . . .

The Dark Ace's smirk just widened. "Don't worry," he said. "I'll make sure you're in good company."

Good company . . . No. The others! He was going to kill them, too!

I struggled to pull myself up, reaching for one of blades. I could not let that happen!

_I will not die. (I will not die.)  
I will survive._

The Dark Ace turned away, his sword lit in his hand.

Seeing him going after them . . . that gave me all the strength I needed to get to my feet.

"I'm not finished!" I shouted after him, raising my blades.

The Dark Ace spun around, an angry snarl on his face.

I didn't have the strength to go after him. I only hoped that he would come attack me. So long as I thought about my friends, I could stand against him.

_I will not die. I'll wait here for you.  
I feel alive when you're beside me.  
I will not die. I'll wait here for you  
In my time of dying._

Like a fury he came at me, his face twisted with rage. I locked blades with him, willing myself to hold him off. But in my condition, I was no match for him. He flung me off like a rag doll.

I caught myself on all fours, knowing that if I collapsed again, I might never get up.

I saw him coming. He thought I was defenseless. My fingers curled around my blade. I knew what to do.

I waited until the last possible moment, and then . . . I drove my blade into him.

I guess my aim was off. I was going for his ice-cold heart. Instead I caught his shoulder. But I wasn't all that sure he had a heart to stab, anyway.

In the same instant, his sword seared against my back. I tore away from him as he staggered back, clutching his own shoulder. Blood flew from his blade as it swept off my back.

I think I saw him collapse. I hoped so. As it was, my own knees had buckled, and my eyesight was swimming.

But then, as I fell first on my knees, I saw my worst fears. I had hoped taking down the Dark Ace would make the Talons lose faith. But the rest of the Storm Hawks were surrounded, and the circle of Talons was closing in on them.

Stork wasn't among them. Had they already gotten Stork?

I couldn't hold myself up anymore. I closed my eyes, sinking to the ground. I had failed to save them.

_On this bed I lay,  
Losing everything._

This had all better be worth it, I thought grudgingly. The Storm Hawks were never given the credit they deserve. We had risked our lives over and over again trying to help people and inspire the terras to have peaceful ways and work together to fight their adversaries. Hopefully people had learned from us. It couldn't have been all for nothing. It _couldn't_ have!

But what if it was all for nothing? The thought made my muscles twitch, trying to get up again, to do _something_.

_I can see my life passing me by.  
Was it all too much  
Or just not enough?_

Ravess's arrow flew through the air. I tried to blink my blurry eyes, to see, waiting for some miracle. I couldn't see much, but the arrow disappeared into the throng, and I thought I saw . . .

But no. Not Piper. It _can't_ be Piper that I saw falling!

I could see Ravess taking aim again . . . at Finn or Junko, I couldn't tell. _No!_ I thought. _Leave them alone!_

I wasn't sure I had the strength to even whisper the words.

_Wake me up. I'm living a nightmare._

I couldn't let this happen!

I searched for that inner strength that I had found before, when I had gotten up the first time. I had to do it again. I had to try. I couldn't just waste away here, watching my friends fall before me.

Summoning all the strength I had left, I pushed myself up on my knees.

_I will not die. (I will not die.)  
I will survive._

I lurched up to my feet, staggering under the weight of my own body. My head alone felt like it weighed a ton.

The Dark Ace. He was suffering silently the ground not far from me. It disgusted me. To be honest, I always thought he could stand more pain than I could. Now he was proving me wrong.

But perhaps it was only because he had no reason to get up.

I staggered toward him and held my blade over his throat. He glared up at me, but he knew he was defeated. I could see it in his eyes.

But I didn't kill him. "Cyclonians!" I shouted to the throng. "Let them go, or the Dark Ace dies!"

The Talons all spun around to me in disbelief. "You're supposed to be dead!" Snipe gasped in surprise.

I looked between Snipe and Ravess, noting their postures. They seemed shocked but determined.

They needed persuasion. "Think of what Master Cyclonis will be like if Acey here doesn't come home," I reminded them.

"You think you've won, don't you boy?" the Dark Ace growled at me. "They won't surrender."

But I didn't look at him. He was only trying to play mind games with me. Instead I looked through the mob of Talons. I saw them there: Finn and Junko, with Radarr on Junko's shoulders. And much to my relief, Piper and Stork were there, too, although Stork was leaning on Junko for support.

Piper's eyes met mine. I could see desperation and horror written all over her face. And as much as I tried to keep my face straight for the Talons, I was sure she could see through the mask and knew how tired I was, how much it hurt just to stand. All I wanted to do was lie down and close my eyes, to sleep. But they needed me.

_I will not die. I'll wait here for you.  
I feel alive when you're beside me.  
I will not die. I'll wait here for you  
In my time of dying._

Snipe and Ravess never made up their minds. The Storm Hawks did. Piper tore her gaze away from me and led the others in a final charge, taking the distracted Talons by surprise.

I didn't get a chance to try to help. The Dark Ace had taken advantage of my distraction, too. He grabbed my ankle and pulled me down, slamming my broken frame against the ground. Something felt wrong; perhaps I had broken something when Snipe had hit me. Whatever it was, I felt the pain rattle through my bones on impact.

Images and sounds swam around me. "Hold the line!" I heard Ravess yell. "Hold the line! Get back here, you cowards!"

"Help me up!" It was the Dark Ace this time. I opened my eyes to see his blurred image move away from me with someone else with him. I knew the other person was Cyclonian because of the blur of red.

I didn't know whether the others were okay or not, but I knew at least one of them had to be. The Talons were retreating. I had given the others just the opportunity they needed to turn the tables.

Blackness kept threatening to overtake me, promising relief from the pain. But I kept fighting it off, struggling to stay conscious. I had to know if they were okay.

_I will not die. I'll wait here for you._

I waited for what seemed like a long time, concentrating on breathing. Each breath felt sharp and painful, like a knife in my lungs. My ears rang, but I tried to hear over it, listening to see if anyone would come. Were they hurt? I wanted to move, to go to them, to see if I could help. But I couldn't even open my eyes.

I had cheated death twice already. It didn't look like I could do it a third time.

I felt something cold press against my hand. Someone whimpered. Then something soft pressed against my chin. It was Radarr. It had to be.

"Aerrow!"

The voice was full of panic and despair. Piper's voice. I had hardly recognized it when I felt myself being moved. It hurt. A lot.

I must have grimaced. I might have even groaned for all I knew. But whatever the case, Piper realized she had caused me pain. "I'm sorry," she whispered. I realized then she was cradling my head in her lap. "Aerrow? Aerrow, look at me. Look at me!"

I struggled to open my eyes, to look at her like she asked. It hurt even to do that much, and it took a moment before I was able to fully open them.

Piper was crying, her hand gently wiping the hair out of my face. "You're going to be okay," she told me over and over again. "You're going to be okay."

I was going to be okay. I kept repeating that to myself, willing my eyes to focus on her and her alone. I'm going to be okay . . .

_I feel alive when you're beside me.  
I will not die. I'll wait here for you  
In my time of dying._

I felt Radarr nudge my hand again, whimpering.

Piper's arm was bleeding, but it didn't seem to be too bad. Radarr seemed untouched.

But the others . . .

I struggled to talk. It seemed to take more energy than I possessed. "Is everyone . . . okay?"

"We're right here, dude," Finn said, leaning into my field of view. His voice sounded thick with emotion. He took hold of my hand, gripping it as if by doing so he could somehow hold onto my life. "We're all here. We're alright."

I was aware of Junko's sobs in the background. It was a comfort to hear them and know he was there. I wished Stork would speak or come where I could see, so I could be sure of his presence as well.

But the weight that had been dragging me down had hold of me again. I gasped for another breath and closed my eyes, unable to keep them open any longer.

"Aerrow, no!" It was Piper again. "Don't leave us! Please!"

I struggled to open my eyes once more. I could handle dying. But I couldn't leave them.

_I will not die. I'll wait here for you.  
I will not die when you're beside me._

It was too much. I closed my eyes again, concentrating only on breathing. The others screamed for me to wake up. But I had to rest. They would care for me. They would see to it that I was okay. Just breathe.

I felt pain shoot through me. They were moving me. I could hear them talking. Always I felt my head being cradled and Piper gently moving my stubborn hair out of my face.

"The emergency supplies," I heard Stork say. "I'll get them."

"He'll be okay, won't he?" Finn this time.

I had to breathe. Concentrate on breathing. Just breathe. Just breathe . . .

I couldn't go now. They weren't ready for me to leave. No one else was there to lead them, to take care of them.

I hadn't told them I loved them.

Breathe . . .

_I will not die. I'll wait here for you  
In my time of dying._

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Author's Notes: I struggled so much over this ending! I originally wrote it so Aerrow died. Then I wrote it so it went into his recovery. But after listening to the song, Aerrow living and recovering didn't really go with the mood. The end of the song still sounds like a determined struggle. So that's how I left it, with Aerrow still fighting to live. The funny thing is, I hate stories with cliffhanger endings. Such a hypocrite, aren't I?

So, you guys like? Don't like? Please review!


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